From the Saudi Arabia of Wind Power we get this ...

UK may need new gas-fired power stations to decarbonise grid–Guardian

JULY 24, 2024

By Paul Homewood

h/t Ian Magness

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When even the Guardian recognises we will still need gas power stations for many years to come, you know Miliband’s plans are pie in the sky:

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Labour is likely to have to approve new gas-fired power stations in its attempt to decarbonise the UK’s electricity systems by 2030, in what would be a tricky decision for the new government.

Keeping the lights on for the rest of the decade, and beyond, will require some additional baseload power, and new nuclear power stations will not be built in time, according to a report from the National Engineering Policy Centre.

All the UK’s existing gas-fired power stations are expected to be kept going as long as possible but it is probable that more will be needed. Wind and solar generation are set for large increases but the UK’s nuclear reactors are ageing and coal has almost been phased out.

Nilay Shah, a professor of process systems engineering at Imperial College London and a co-author of the report, said: “There is a reasonable chance that we will need new gas-fired power stations.”

However he called for them to be “genuinely” ready for the attachment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which could be achieved by locating them near potential underground carbon storage sites. He said the number needed would depend on factors such as building new interconnectors between the UK and overseas electricity grids.

Simon Harrison, the head of strategy at the engineering company Mott MacDonald who co-chaired the committee that wrote the report, added that having a small number of gas-fired power stations available would add to the UK’s resilience, even if they did produce some carbon emissions. “We have to not be purist about unabated gas,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/23/uk-may-need-new-gas-fired-power-stations-to-decarbonise-grid

Although the report calls for new power stations to be CCS ready, that does not mean they will have CCS fitted. And they will need to be built now, not in ten years time.

Add in the existing gas plants that will be kept going as long as possible, and it is now dawning even on the Guardian that we Miliband cannot decarbonise the grid by 2030 as he promised.